The prior art discloses the use of backer insulation material on panel siding including vinyl, aluminum, steel; or other commonly used siding material. The prior art also discloses the use of various techniques of affixing backer insulation material to panel siding utilizing flexible and non-flexible adhesives.
Vinyl siding is generally made available in panels comprising longitudinally extending faces. For example, a single panel may represent two faces of a traditional wooden siding panel.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,486 to Culpepper et al. discloses a composite siding panel. The panel is comprised of a sheet metal or vinyl outer panel and an insulating member. The insulating member is adhesively bonded to the inner surface of the outer panel. Culpepper discloses the use of foamed insulating material.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,542,222 and corresponding continuation U.S. Pat. No. 6,195,952 to Wilson et al. discloses a corner post support member operable to adjoin two perpendicular panels of siding coming together at a corner. The corner post support member includes a space separating the outer panel of the member from the adjoining wall, said space filled with an insulating member in the nature of a polystyrene foam plastic or the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,415 and corresponding continuation U.S. Pat. No. 6,195,952 to Culpepper et al. discloses a composite interlocking vinyl or other veneer siding panel having an elongated insulating member bonded to a vinyl panel with a permanently flexible adhesive. It is claimed that the use of flexible adhesive is required because a hardened adhesive is not compatible with insulated siding panels since it does not take into account the effects of oil canning and telegraphing. Oil canning is a term for a phenomenon caused by expansion and contraction of vinyl siding. Vinyl exhibits a relatively high degree of expansion and contraction based on temperature changes, relative to similarly sized metal siding products. Prior art methods of insulation did not address the expansion and contraction requirements of vinyl siding. As a result, prior art methods of insulating vinyl siding had been known to buckle. Culpepper et al. introduced an insulating member having similar coefficients of expansion and contraction as vinyl, so that the siding presumably did not buckle. Telegraphing is a term for a phenomenon cause by the use of certain methods of applying adhesive to affix an insulating member to a siding panel. Where adhesive is applied in lines, rather than across the totality of the area where the surfaces of the insulation and panel are adjacent, the adhesive glue line can be seen under certain lighting conditions through the face of the panel. Culpepper et al. introduced a flexible adhesive that could be spread across the totality of the area of the insulation that is adjacent to the panel, so that telegraphing was presumably not a problem.
As mentioned above the insulating material disclosed in the prior art is an expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam more commonly known as beaded foam. However, this prior art foamed insulation is not impervious to moisture. This type of insulating foam is manufactured by using tiny beads of styrene impregnated with a foaming agent. Prior to forming the insulation the beads are typically expanded by aging them in air, allowing dispersion of the blowing agent. The beads are then placed in a mold and heated, causing the beads to fully expand and form the insulation. To minimize costs, a manufacturer typically uses the least number of beads possible that will expand to form the insulation. Thus each bead is relatively large when fully expanded and consequently there are large voids between the beads. These voids are known to collect moisture and bacteria, resulting in substantial rotting of the insulating material.
Furthermore, the use of a minimal number of beads results in a fragile product. During the manufacturing process, breakage of the fragile product causes beads to litter a manufacturing area resulting in time consuming cleanup and an environmental nuisance.
Finally, once the EPS foam insulation has been formed in a mold, a hot wire is used to burn the final shape required for the insulation material. This results in both open foam at the surfaces of the insulation and in significant smoke and air pollution.
Additionally, the method used by those skilled in the art to produce EPS foam insulation does not allow flexibility in panel lengths. As the profile of the insulation must be hot-wire cut from large blocks, there are limitations in the length of hot wire that can be used while retaining the ability to cut an accurate profile. Typically, an accurate profile can be made with hot wire of between 8 and 10 feet. However, the siding industry typically produces siding in 14 feet lengths, necessitating joining EPS insulation where EPS is used.
In view of the foregoing, what is needed is a foamed siding insulation that is less susceptible to moisture collection than the prior art siding insulation materials.
What is also needed is a foamed siding insulation material that is stronger than EPS and whose break-up does not result in messy, costly, and environmentally unfriendly debris.
Also there is a need to provide a foamed insulating material that can be sized easily to any profile and any length as needed rather than relying on sizes supplied by the manufacturer due to the limitations of the EPS manufacturing process.